The timpani traditionally is a back-row instrument.Beyond the woodwinds and strings and horns of the orchestra, this percussion instrument keeps the rhythm but rarely takes the spotlight.

But for the Amarillo Symphony’s next season concerts, the timpani will get front-stage treatment.

This oft-unseen instrument — in fact, seven of them — will be on full display in a 21st-century piece titled “Raise the Roof.”

The concerto is the centerpiece of the Symphony’s March performances, Visionaries, set at 8 p.m. March 21 and 22 in Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Buchanan St.

“There are few timpani concertos, and even fewer good ones,” said Jacomo Bairos, the Symphony’s conductor and music director. “It isn’t meant to play melodies and be soloistic. But with ‘Raise the Roof,’ we have a great work that showcases this foundational instrument in a unique way.”

The timpani is the only percussion instrument with a drum head that can be tuned to a specific note, thus creating melody. As the instrument has evolved, a pedal system has been added that allows performers to change notes with their feet.

The featured timpani soloist, Leonardo Soto, will perform on seven drums, all tuned to different notes that can be changed with foot pedals.

The performances will be the first time for a timpani soloist to be featured at an Amarillo Symphony concert, said Susan White, the Symphony’s executive director.

“Raise the Roof” was written by living American composer Michael Daugherty.

The work builds throughout, ending with Soto playing the timpani with a stick that has shakers attached to the ends.

“This is a fun piece, one that is well-written to expose the timpani as a solo instrument,” Soto said.

The program opens with Christopher Theofanidis’ “Rainbow Body,” a work commissioned by the Houston Symphony and first performed in 2000.

“This is a beautiful, organic, spiritual piece,” Bairos said. “It has an ending that is rich and round, creating a gargantuan sense of space.”

The second half of Visionaries features the immense seven-movement work, “The Planets,” by Gustav Holst.

The piece, which debuted in 1918, is inspired by the solar system — particularly, each movement represents the mythological astrological background of each planet (except Earth and Pluto).